My dog Pawsome found a box turtle in the garden today when we stepped outside at lunch time.  He was a bit shy at first but eventually “came out of his shell” and went about his business.

The step from the garden onto our concrete patio is a BIG one if you are a turtle!

Feeling a bit perplexed and out of place, he looked me over for a bit…

And then he decided that it was time to explore our deck.

On the smooth surface of the deck, one can build up some real “speed”…  COOL!

These purple flowers sure look interesting.  Wonder what one might find in here?

Oh, I see this little Skink likes purple flowers too…

An ant came out from under the turtle’s shell.   When the turtle noticed it, he went from a poky little chap into a streamlined hunter (well, as streamlined as a turtle will ever be).  The chase was on as he “raced” after the ant…

In the end it wasn’t the ant that he was after, but rather the vegetable matter that the ant was carrying.  GULP!   And the ant went along on his way.

Hmmm…wonder what is over there?

This pretty thing sure looks tasty…

Chomp!  Gulp…

(This by the way,  is why we DO NOT use weed killers on our property!)

Ahhhhh!  Lip smackin good!

There is nothing like a nice dandelion mustache to show for a good meal…

Time to mosey….see ya!

SOME BOX TURTLE FUN FACTS:

Box turtles can live to be 100 years old.

Box turtles are becoming increasingly threatened in the wild due to habitat loss (woodlands being converted into subdivisions, roads and farms) and the pet trade.  Pet traders are pulling  them from the wild and selling them at alarming rates.  Over half of them die in captivity.  It is difficult to adequately meet the nutritional and physiological needs of a box turtle in captivity.  Most are anemic and sickly.   So teach little Johnny that the best place for the box turtle he has just found… is exactly where he found it!

A box turtle stays within about a half mile range of where it was born, all it’s life.  If it is caught and released somewhere else, it will spend the rest of it’s life trying to find it’s way back to it’s original range.

Female box turtles lay eggs in late spring, usually around 4-6.  Their reproductive cycle is very slow.   They only need to mate every four years and are able still to lay fertilized eggs each year.

The next time you see a box turtle, ask him how old he is.  His first birthday could date back to the time when automobiles were first invented!

I never know where a painting idea will come from.  Any artist will tell you that they get inspiration from life experiences.  I guess that I’m no exception.   It can take years for an idea to come to fruition as it percolates in the back of my mind.   Then finally, I will decide that the time has come to pull the idea out from my imagination and recreate it with paint.

Several years ago my husband and I were taking a leisurely walk around a small lake in a nearby park.  I’ve always admired an abstract sculpture that sits beside the lake.  The artist crated this sculpture by welding scrap metal pieces together to form a kind of serpent-like creature.  Over the years rust has given the sculpture a wonderful patina.    We strolled past the serpent on that day as we have many times.   Suddenly out of nowhere a Belted Kingfisher flew up and perched right up on the top of the serpent’s head, using it as a vantage point over the water.   I didn’t have my camera with me that day, but that image has stayed etched in my mind ever since.

I decided to redesign the serpent to be as it would if I had sculpted it myself, using the idea of old rusty metal.   I wanted it to be more dragon-like to give traction to my idea.  It was fun to come up with a three dimensional sculpture idea based loosely on one that I had already seen.  The result is my painting “The King’s Dragon”.

“The King’s Dragon”

Male Belted Kingfisher, (detail)

One of the surest signs that winter is indeed over is the emergence of cold blooded critters.   Reptiles and amphibians appear, often a bit sluggish from shaking off winter and from the cool temperatures of spring.  The sun is a critical factor in warming up their systems enough to gain energy for normal function.

Starting in April, the nearby ponds are filled with a chorus of bullfrogs.

The eyes of a bullfrog are very pretty I think…

And who cannot smile when looking into the face of a box turtle?

A garter snake coils up and gives me a face-off.  She is ready for action.

This snapping turtle looks like he has had too much to drink on his night out (perhaps too much to eat too)…

A beautiful Ribbon Snake is out and about looking for lunch.

Face to face with a Ribbon Snake…

This little chap creates one of my favorite sounds found in nature, a chorus of tree frogs.   He is perched on our hose holder.

I ran into this male Broad-headed skink on my walk in our woods yesterday.   What a beautiful creature!

I will never understand how this Black Rat Snake is able to scale straight down a brick wall.  He  can seemingly defy gravity.

Old Man Winter finally lost his hard fought battle to stay forever, against the soft, warm sunshine of spring.   Everything is just exploding in color.  How I love this time of year.

I decided to take my new little pocket camera out for a stroll today.  I need to learn how to use it.   After over 25 years of wearing a big SLR camera around my neck, I decided that a small purse-size camera could come in handy for more casual shooting situations.  Although I could never abandon my wonderful SLR , this little hummer is just the ticket when I’m not after “professional” results.

This pond below is on my regular walking path that the dogs and I take every day that we can.  The red bud trees are so beautiful in it’s reflection…

One of the surest signs of spring here is the arrival of cute little Yellow-rumped warblers.  They pass through eastern Kansas on their way to Canada, staying on for a few days to beef  up on tiny insect larvae.  They arrive like clockwork each year in mid April.

This is Little Mill Creek (below).  We have had a great deal of water this year, between the massive snow melt-off and heavy rains.  I love how the creek looks when sparkling in the warm sunshine.

I decided to use the macro setting on my little camera to photograph this tiny frog.   Believe it or not,  this fellow is about the size of a DIME!  A natural spring oozes out of the hillside and trickles across our driveway, attracting these tiny frogs.  One must be very careful where they step!

The view off our bedroom deck…

Bradford pear trees line the streets of this industrial park.  They all bloom at once, creating a white tunnel down the roadways.